Infrared thermometer

ABSTRACT

A hygienic device for use with a container opening is provided. The hygienic device includes a base and at least two guard elements which are integrally formed as a unitary structure. The guard elements, which are made of a soft resilient material and positioned on the base, are readily bendable downward to change shape and thus facilitate the opening/closing thereof, and can get closer together to form a protective layer for enclosing the container opening. The hygienic device requires lesser constituent elements and dispenses with the need to remove a hygienic lid from the container before using the container. The guard elements are capable of rebounding and adjusting shape and thickness, effective in balancing a resilient force and a binding force generated as a result of the bending and opening of the guard elements, and effective in attaching to the container; hence, the guard elements open without increasing occupied space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to hygienic devices, and moreparticularly, to a hygienic device installed at a container opening.

2. Description of the Related Art

At present, hygienic devices of commercially-available feeding bottles,water bottles, or other containers fall within the following categories:

-   -   1. Separation-type hygienic lids: as shown in FIG. 1, a hygienic        lid 01 and a container 10 are independent of each other. Before        starting to use the container 10, a user has to remove the        hygienic lid 01 from the container 10. However, it is not        uncommon to find the hygienic lid 01 missing after its removal        from the container 10. Alternatively, it is feasible to provide        a simple connection (such as a chain, a cord, or a plastic        strip) between the hygienic lid 01 and the container 10 as shown        in FIG. 2; however, in doing so, use of the container 10 is        inevitably hindered by the hygienic lid 01 to the detriment of        ease of use.    -   2. Rotation-type hygienic elements: a hygienic element 02 is        pivotally connected to the container 10 through a pivotal axle        and comes in two forms, namely single and twin. As shown in FIG.        3, the single rotatable hygienic element 02 protects a container        opening. The single rotatable hygienic element 02 keeps a        rotational space, and thus less than 50% of the space is        accessible to the container opening. As a result, it is        impossible for a device, such as a teat, to be centrally        positioned in the container opening. As shown in FIG. 4, the        twin rotatable hygienic element 02 protects the container        opening, thereby increasing the space accessible to the        container opening; however, to enable the container 10 to be        available for use, the two hygienic elements 02 have to be        opened outward and thus occupy much space to the detriment of        ease of use. Furthermore, the pivotal axle of the hygienic        element 02 is structurally complicated and thus difficult to        clean; as a result, the ease of use of the hygienic element 02        is compromised. Referring to FIG. 5, another twin hygienic        element (disclosed in WO 2006/010935 A1) comprises a soft        elastomer instead of a pivotal axle structure, but still has the        same drawback as the hygienic element shown in FIG. 4 does, that        is, being too space-consuming to be user-friendly.    -   3. Hinge-type protective lids: as shown in FIG. 6, a protective        lid 03 and the container 10 are connected by a hinge; however,        the protective lid 03 is quite close to the container opening        when opened, thereby compromising ease of use of the container        to a certain extent; also, another drawback of the hinge-type        protective lid 03 is that it is as difficult to clean as its        aforesaid counterparts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to improve on the prior artby providing a hygienic device adapted for use with a container openingand advantageously characterized by ease of use, space saving, and beingeasy to clean.

In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the presentinvention provides a hygienic device for use with a container opening.The hygienic device for use with a container opening comprises a baseand guard elements. The guard elements are made of a soft resilientmaterial. The base is fixed to the container opening rim. At least twosaid guard elements bendable downward are positioned at an upper end ofthe base, such that the guard elements can get closer together to form aprotective layer for enclosing the container opening.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the base and theguard elements are integrally formed as a unitary structure and made ofa soft resilient material.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, transit holes forpreventing stress concentration are formed at the roots portions at twosides of the guard elements.

The present invention has the following advantages: the soft resilientmaterial is readily bendable to cause a change in the shape of the guardelements and thus effectuate the opening/closing function; the presentinvention reduces the required constituent elements, cuts costs, anddispenses with the need to remove a hygienic lid from a container beforeusing the container and thus prevents the hygienic lid from gettinglost; due to its resilience, the soft resilient material is capable ofrebounding and thus easy to operate; adjustment of shape and thicknessis effective in balancing a resilient force and a binding force whichare generated by the material as soon as the guard elements bend andopen, and is effective in attaching the guard elements to the surface ofthe container, as a result, the guard elements can open withoutincreasing the occupied space, thereby enhancing ease of use; finally,the base and the guard elements of the hygienic device of the presentinvention are integrally formed as a unitary structure, and thus thehygienic device is easy to clean and cost-saving.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a separation-type hygienic lid in an embodiment accordingto the prior art;

FIG. 2 shows a simple connection of a hygienic lid and a container in anembodiment according to the prior art;

FIG. 3 shows a single rotation-type hygienic element in an embodimentaccording to the prior art;

FIG. 4 shows a twin rotation-type hygienic element in an embodimentaccording to the prior art;

FIG. 5 shows another twin hygienic element in an embodiment according tothe prior art (WO 2006/010935 A1);

FIG. 6 shows a hinge-type protective lid in an embodiment according tothe prior art;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view about how to operate a hygienic device (ina closed state) according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic view about how to operate the hygienic device(in an opened state) according to the present invention; and

FIG. 9 shows a schematic view about how to operate the hygienic device(in a half-opened state) according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, a hygienic device for use with acontainer opening according to the present invention comprises aprotective layer 20 and a base 30. The protective layer 20 and the base30 are integrally formed as a unitary structure. The protective layer 20is made of a soft resilient material (such as silicone or thermoplasticrubber). The base 30 is firmly fixed to the rim of the opening of thecontainer 10 (that is, a feeding bottle in this embodiment) (that is, ateat fixing lid 11 in this embodiment.) A groove 22 is disposed on theprotective layer 20 for dividing the protective layer 20 into two guardelements 21. The root portion of each of the guard elements 21 isconnected to the base 20 such that, in a free state, the two guardelements 21 get closer together and thereby close to form the protectivelayer 20 at the container opening. Given the protective layer 20, thecontainer opening or a device disposed (a teat 12 in this embodiment) atthe container opening is shut out from the outside to effectuate ahygienic function. Due to the resilience of the soft resilient material,the guard elements 21 can bend downward freely to open the protectivelayer 20, thereby allowing the teat to be available for use. A roundtransit hole 221 is disposed at each of the two ends of the groove 22for preventing the root portions of the guard elements 21 from a rupturewhich might otherwise occur when the guard elements 21 bend and thuscause stress concentration to the root portions. When bent, the guardelements 21 made of the soft resilient material are adjustable in shapeand thickness to thereby control the interaction between a binding forceand a resilient force generated by the resilient guard elements 21 andthus attach the resilient guard elements 21 to the surface of thecontainer 10. Hence, the guard elements 21 thus opened do not extendoutward, thereby solving an existing problem facing a conventional rigidhygienic device—an open state that is space-consuming. Furthermore,according to the present invention, in an open state, bends 211 of theguard elements 21 enclose the top surface and corners of the teat fixinglid 31, and thus the soft guard element bends 211 enhance the comfortperceived by a baby while the baby's mouth is in contact with the teatfixing lid 31. Upon completion of the use of the hygienic device of thepresent invention, all the user needs to do is to move the guardelements 21 to destroy the equilibrium of the binding force and theresilient force, such that the guard elements 21 rebound independentlyto return to the free state and get closer together to form theprotective layer 20 at the opening of the feeding bottle again.

Referring to FIG. 9, since the two guard elements 21 which get closertogether and shut at the container opening in the free state are likelyto generate an inadequate closing force whereby the integrity of theprotective layer 20 would be endangered in the presence of an externalforce exerted in a direction parallel with the groove 22; hence,coupling devices 212 (that is, magnetic bodies in this embodiment) aredisposed at the mutually attaching position of the two guard elements21, such that the two guard elements 21 which get closer together andshut at the container opening in the free state can generate asufficient closing force.

If the container opening is provided with a fixing device (such as ascrew thread), it will be feasible for the base 30 to be provided with afixing device (such as a corresponding screw thread) corresponding inposition to the container 10, such that the base 30 can be tightly fixedto the rim of the opening of the container 10 easily.

The present invention is disclosed above by preferred embodiments.However, persons skilled in the art should understand that the preferredembodiments are illustrative of the present invention only, but shouldnot be interpreted as restrictive of the scope of the present invention.Hence, all equivalent changes and modifications made to the aforesaidembodiments should fall within the scope of the present invention asdefined by the appended claims.

1. A hygienic device for use with a container opening, the hygienicdevice comprising a base and guard elements, the guard elements beingmade of a soft resilient material, wherein the base is fixed to thecontainer opening rim, and at least two said guard elements bendabledownward are positioned at an upper end of the base, such that the guardelements can get closer together to form a protective layer forenclosing the container opening.
 2. The hygienic device of claim 1,characterized in that the base and the guard elements are integrallyformed as a unitary structure.
 3. The hygienic device of claim 2,characterized in that transit holes for preventing stress concentrationare formed at roots portions at two sides of the guard elements.
 4. Thehygienic device of claim 1, characterized in that coupling devices aredisposed at a mutually attaching position of the at least two guardelements for increasing a closing force generated by the guard elementswhen the guard elements get closer together.
 5. The hygienic device ofclaim 1, characterized in that the based is provided with a fixingdevice for enabling the base to be coupled to the container openingtightly and easily.
 6. The hygienic device of claim 2, characterized inthat the based is provided with a fixing device for enabling the base tobe coupled to the container opening tightly and easily.
 7. The hygienicdevice of claim 3, characterized in that the based is provided with afixing device for enabling the base to be coupled to the containeropening tightly and easily.
 8. The hygienic device of claim 4,characterized in that the based is provided with a fixing device forenabling the base to be coupled to the container opening tightly andeasily.